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May 11, 2012

Updates : Book and Work

The last post for this blog is in early March.

It has been a very busy two months leading up to this moment. We were appointed to two of the biggest property companies in Malaysia which sell high-end freehold properties. We offered our service and when they appoint us into a select group of solicitors to handle documentations for the sale of their properties, our infrastructure took a beating that even the partners (especially me) who always had time for other endeavors find it hard to go out.

Then, one of our long-time valuable staff who we thought will one day be the heiress to this medium-sized legal firm decided to concentrate on her study and tendered her resignation. I personally was heartbroken as I had suggested and we, as a collective, decided nearly two years ago to send her to a local university's law school. We paid for her law school's fee and ask her to stay on board after she finished her study. She had worked with us nearly 5 years then. We had watched her grow and learned various trade secrets which she then shared around. We found her to be the best candidate.

We gave her the space and time to take leaves without question. During her exam weeks, she did not have to come to the office at all. We were willing to sacrifice the time and in some way, some money too, in order to ensure the legal firm's next generation is well in place. As it was a project I had suggested, I consider it a failure on us to retain her. Her excuses of being under pressure due to her study and the feeling that she was more of a burden to her colleagues due to her absence, did nothing to lessen the pain of a failed succession plan project. I guess we need to go back to the drawing board.

However, nothing can stop me from making this lifelong project of building a successful business. To a certain extent, the business is already successful though the growing pain is still very much evidence. Reading a New Yorker's article about Uniqlo about Uniqlo having more staff than enough to man each of its store in order to ensure every customer's need is tended to at any given moment , we decided to fill up the void with more staff. We anticipated our good work may just bring us more business. It would also be good for us to ensure our clients are treated the instance the need anything too.

As for my book, I have abandoned writing it for some time until something gave me a second wind to go back writing it. In April, I was invited by Penang Regional Development Authority (PERDA) to give a one-day talk. I recruited my partner and senior associate to accompany me and we had a great time disseminating knowledge and answering questions, some which I never thought of hearing, which made me decided there is still a need for a sequel to my book. I am now halfway in writing the book and is giving myself the whole of 2012 to finish it.

I am also is reading the book 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami, one of my favorite Japanese author, which has a character who is a writer and Murakami's idea of why one writes can be seen to be manifested in that particular character.

I will follow you....

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